Authors:Author List

Anita Shackelford

Anita Shackelford has been a quiltmaker since 1967 and began teaching in 1980. She is an internationally recognized teacher and lecturer who loves combining appliqué and fine hand quilting to create new quilts in 19th century style. She also enjoys using her sewing machine for many parts of the creative process and has also added longarm quilting to the mix.

Anita has been featured on several television programs, including "Today’s American Quilter," "Kaye’s Quilting Friends," "Linda’s Electric Quilters," and "Simply Quilts." Her work and antique quilts from her collection have been featured in several gallery and museum exhibits. Her quilts have been exhibited in shows across the United States, in Australia and Japan, winning many awards, including twelve Best Of Show and many for workmanship.

Anita is the author several books all of which are published by American Quilter's Society. Anita has been a member of the National Quilting Association since 1982 and served four years on the NQA Board as membership chair. She is a charter member of the American Quilter's Society and The National Quilt Museum.

Joan Shay

Joan was introduced to quilting in 1988 when she, her husband, and two children moved from Syracuse, New York, to Westchester County, outside New York City. She needed decorations for her walls and an art teacher friend suggested she make quilts. Although she had made her husband’s suits and tuxedo, she had never made a quilt. Once she was bitten by the bug she never turned back.

While trying to design a quilt that featured a Nantucket basket filled with hydrangea flowers, she dreamt how to make the flowers dimensional. This was the birth of her three-dimensional Appli-bond technique. It was truly a life-altering dream.

Joan is the owner and designer of her pattern company, Petal Play. She has written three books for the American Quilter’s Society: Petal by Petal, Petal Play the Traditional Way, and co-authored 3 Quilters Celebrate the 4 Seasons. She is always amazed at how a little dimension can bring a quilt to life.

She travels extensively teaching and lecturing across the country, internationally, and on quilting cruises. Her workshops are informative and humorous. For contact information and to view her work, log onto www.petalplay.com.

Joan lives with her husband, Tony, in Summerfield, Florida, and is VERY happy that there is no known cure for the quilting bug.

Kathleen Shea

Kathleen Shea’s journey into quilting the Peanuts characters began when, at an early age, her mother (patiently!) taught her to sew. An enthusiastic learner, Kathleen was sewing on her own by the age of eight. At the same time, she was also discovering the wonder of the Peanuts characters! During the time she was growing up in the 1960s, Charles Schulz’s Peanuts gang was becoming a part of everyone’s world, and Snoopy was quickly becoming Kathleen’s best friend!

So, while continuing to perfect her sewing skills, Kathleen also started collecting—Peanuts dolls, banks, banners, books—anything and everything that depicted Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and all their friends. She continued sewing (first making her own clothes, and later concentrating on quilts and appliqué), and kept up with the Peanuts gang by reading the phenomenally popular comic strip in the newspaper every day.

In 1984, Kathleen graduated with a bachelor of fine arts degree in design from the Fashion Institute of Technology and later obtained a law degree from St. John’s University. She has authored several articles in journals and periodicals. As a contributing member of the Peanuts Collector’s Club, she also wrote a quarterly column for the club’s newsletter for several years.

It was through her involvement with the Peanuts Collector’s Club that Kathleen first learned of the wonderful organization, Canine Companions for Independence (CCI). CCI has been the designated charity of the Peanuts Collector’s Club since the Club’s founder, Andrea Podley, selected it as such years ago. CCI is a non-profit organization that—free of charge— provides highly-trained assistance dogs to people with disabilities. Located in Santa Rosa, CA, CCI is recognized worldwide for the excellence of both its dogs, and its overall program. Kathleen is happy to donate 10% of her proceeds from this book to CCI!

Peanuts®– Quilted Celebrations is Kathleen’s first book. It is most certainly an inevitable outgrowth of her love of sewing and her obsession with Peanuts! Alongside the growing popularity of quilting (this craft has mushroomed in the United States in recent years), the Peanuts gang has truly become a force of pop culture all over the world. Though Charles Schulz succumbed to cancer in the year 2000 (passing away the night before his last strip was published), the popularity of the characters he created continues to grow.

Kathleen is thrilled to bring the Peanuts gang—in fabric and thread—to quilters and hopes her patterns inspire Peanuts collectors to try their hands at quilting, too!

Elly Sienkiewicz

Elly has been designing and making quilts, studying, writing, and teaching quiltmaking for several decades. Her creativity and research have fueled 17 books on appliqué. Two major Baltimore Album Revival exhibitions were held to celebrate the explosive impact of her first 12 books, fueling the ongoing Baltimore Album revival. Before becoming so deeply involved with group-made albums, Elly’s individual work hung at shows across the country and at museums and galleries in and around Washington DC, her hometown. She has lectured and had her work exhibited in Canada, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Japan, New Zealand, and South Africa. Widely admired both as a needlewoman and as a scholar, she writes with sensitivity and insight about quiltmaking and quiltmakers. She is a delightful teacher and an inspiring lecturer. Elly says she is never happier than when she is teaching quiltmaking and that happiness is contagious.

Tammy Silvers

Tammy Silvers has been quilting since 1991. She has taught at a variety of fabric shops as well as local county Parks and Recreation facilities. She has also designed and self-published several of her own quilt patterns. She enjoys working with most any fabric, however, she prefers batiks, bold prints, and chicken prints: “If it clucks, it goes in a quilt!” Having a background in art and literature, Tammy looks for ways to use “words” in her work, be it in the fabric itself or by adding them to the piece. Tammy is a native of Georgia and currently lives in Marietta, Georgia with her husband, children, two dogs, and two cats.

In 2006 Tammy and Julia LaBauve started “Outside the Line Designs.” As a team they have designed many quilts that play off of their combined interests and strengths, as well as their mutual love of vibrant fabric. Many of their designs are regularly published in a variety of industry magazines. Tammy and Julia count their blessing, being able to combine their long friendship with their love of quilting.

Lynda Smith

Lynda was born and raised in Paducah, Kentucky, home of the American Quilter’s Society –– Quilt City USA®. It must have been destiny that landed her in her dream job as graphic designer for AQS. During her eight years with AQS, she has designed over 50 books and worked 16 quilt shows in Paducah and Nashville. She has learned a lot about quilting from some of the most notable quilters in the industry. A quilter at heart, Lynda was thrilled when her first-ever quilt, LOVELY PINK, was published in “Borders & Finishing Touches 2” by Bonnie K. Browning, American Quilter’s Society, 2006. Married for 29 years, Lynda and Donnie have two wonderful children, Brian and Michael, and two “fantabulous” grandsons, Tyler and Aidan.

Sarah Ann Smith

When Sarah's family returned to the US when she was six, she had lived on four continents. Shortly after that, a neighbor girl made her an apron for her doll. Sarah promptly started sewing clothes for her trolls, and she hasn't stopped sewing or traveling since. In 1988, Sarah began quilting, which morphed into the perfect marriage of two of her favorite things: sewing and art. Her only problem is that no one has yet created a 37-hour day!

Sarah's work has been juried into shows and published in magazines and books in the US and Europe, and is in public and private collections including the International Quilt Festival Collection. A former US diplomat, Sarah draws on her assignments in Africa, South America and North America, as well as travels to Asia and Europe for her art. She specializes in machine work, coloring with threads, and using whatever technique will help turn the picture in her mind into cloth. Sarah is now a (sometimes tired!) full-time artist, member of the Frayed Edges mini-group, quilt teacher, pattern designer, and mom living in Camden, Maine, with her husband, two sons, pug, four cats and assorted dust bunnies. To see her art, teaching schedule, and blog, or to contact her, visit www.sarahannsmith.com.

Dianne Springer

Dianne was hooked on arts and creating things by age 12: paint-by-number; knitting; sewing/designing clothes; drawing; wrapping bottles in twine. In other words, Dianne explored all the usual and some not-so-usual creative outlets for a young person. She has dabbled in glass beadmaking, glass fusing, batiking, oil painting, watercolor, jewelry design, weaving, garment construction, quilting, kite-making, printmaking, enameling, calligraphy, ceramics, sculpture, etc., etc. Peggy even ended up teaching art in a gifted/talented program for 25 years

Dianne has become immersed in the world of quilting. She enjoys anything that involves fabric—from simply fondling the fibers to drawing designs that will become part of those fibers. In 2007 she started she own company, Dianne Springer Designs, where she and her free helpers create, package, and market products that take the quilt from the bedroom to new and fun places. In 2010 Dianne’s first line of fabrics became available in the marketplace. You can visit her website at www.diannespringerdesigns.com. You can also read her musings and add your own to her blog, Threads from My Head, http://diannespringer.blogspot.com.

Helen Squire

An entrepreneur since 1973 when Quilt-In: Lessons•Supplies•Designs by Helen Squire was incorporated, Helen has been an active participant in the growth of the quilt industry as a designer, author, lecturer, teacher, and television consultant. For the past 15 years, she has written "Helen’s Hints: Creative Quilting Designs" for "American Quilter" magazine, and is best known for her “Dear Helen” book series of quilting patterns.

Now retired from her position as vice-president of sales and marketing for the American Quilter’s Society, she has relocated from Paducah, KY to Frostburg, MD, and has finally found the time to quilt!

Susan Stewart

Susan grew up on a farm in Missouri. She earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and then worked in immunology research and as a nuclear medicine technologist. After her children were born, she was a stay-at-home mom––and all the while she sewed. After falling in love with heirloom sewing in 1988, she worked from 1990 to 2005 as a primary designer for the Martha Pullen Company. Sue has had dozens of featured articles in “Sew Beautiful” magazine and wrote “Sue Says…,” a tips and tricks column for eight years. Her book “Easy Elegance” featured several of her heirloom design techniques, and she has designed and sold a small line of children’s heirloom patterns. She was a regular teacher at the Martha Pullen School of Art Fashion for many years and has also taught for Pfaff and Viking sewing machine dealer conventions and for various sewing groups and guilds. Her interests have turned toward translating heirloom sewing techniques into quilting. Her heirloom quilts have won awards at American Quilter’s Society and International Quilt Association shows. Susan lives in Pittsburgh, Kansas, with her husband, Mark. She has a grown daughter and son. Honey Dog and Stella Cat keep her company at home while she sews and writes.